THANKS TO DONORS!: Crouch Vale Medical Centre has Wheelchairs again. If you need one for an appointment ask at Reception – and PLEASE return it!
We’re very grateful to SWF Town Council for a grant to bring award-winning mental health sessions to the Town; arrangements being made.
Another Resident Doctors’ strike for five-days from 14 November is expected to cause significant disruption, particularly in hospitals. These strikes must stop. Patients on long waiting lists must be prioritised, along with reducing NHS pressures.
Health leaders are warning that NHS services and jobs will be cut unless £3bn more is allocated by the Chancellor in the Budget tocover unexpected costs,including the costs of redundancies and strikes, and paying more for medicines.
The data shows:
- influenza activity has increased, with a sharp increase among children and increases in other groups and is now above baseline.
- COVID-19 has decreased activity, circulating at baseline levels.
- respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) showed increasing activity across some indicators but is still circulating at baseline levels.
- Norovirus is increasing and is higher than average for this time.
The UK’s winter flu season has begun five weeks earlier than usual. Cases are rising quickly among children and young people – and will soon spread across older age groups. People eligible for the flu vaccine should get protected. The flu season could peak before most of the vulnerable groups are immunised. Last year nearly 8,000 people died from flu and in 2022-23 there were nearly 16,000 deaths.
Brand-new Thurrock Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) is open, offering faster, local, vital tests and scans for thousands of local residents, without needing to go to hospital. This state-of-the-art facility will deliver 75,000+ additional diagnostic appointments every year, significantly reducing waiting times and supporting faster diagnosis for patients. Other planned CDC sites include Southend (late 2025), Braintree (2026) and Pitsea (2026/27).
September’s key performances by Mid & South Essex’s Hospitals at Broomfield, Basildon and Southend were:
- 74.2% (August 75.6%, July 77.6%) of patients were treated, admitted or discharged within 4 hours in their emergency departments; the national standard is 78%. They expect to meet this standard at the end of November.
- 25 minutes (23, 25) was the average time for ambulances to hand over patients, compared to 32mins in East of England and 41 minutes nationally.
- 59.6% (64.9%, 56.9%) of patients received cancer diagnosis results within 28 days. Improvement plans for extra clinics are in place.
GP appointments in Mid & South Essex jumped up as the NHS had its busiest summer on record. Local GP practices delivered 71,000+ more appointments for residents during June and July compared to last year. Pharmacy services also saw a huge rise in demand this summer, with almost 2,000 Pharmacy First consultations provided for infected insect bites, more than double from last year.
Patients with potentially deadly illnesses will be diagnosed sooner through a new life-saving patient safety initiative. Jess’s Rule is being rolled out. It asks GPs to think again if, after 3 appointments, they have been unable to offer a substantiated diagnosis, or the patient’s symptoms have escalated.
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SWF Health & Social Care Group 